Arguably So
by Pulchrite
Summary: The wedding is finally here and everyone is excited except for Ren. Will he be able to hold his peace to make Yoh happy, or will he ruin the most important day of his best friend's life?
1. One

**One**

The violet strands of his hair danced wildly in the wind as he slowly trudged up the hill. His thoughts raced through his brain at lightning speed and made him more nervous than before. Doubting his ability to admit his feelings, he began to wonder why he had flown all this way in the first place. "Quite ridiculous," he said aloud and sighed. There was no turning back now. He knew it. He was already in Japan and at least 75 feet away from the house. Tamao was outside and would have already spotted him. Sighing heavily, he meandered into the yard as if he didn't see her.

"Wow, Ren! Hello!" Tamao called to him cheerfully. "It's good to see you!"

"Hello," he answered weakly. He suddenly felt like an idiot. _This __will __accomplish __nothing_, he thought to himself.

As he mumbled under his breath the front door slid open.

"Whoa, hey!" Yoh called to him, caught off guard by his presence.

"Yoh...I...uh...Hi." He didn't look at him.

"Well come on in! I'm so glad you could make it!" Before Ren could respond Yoh was dragging him by the arm into the house. "Everyone look who's here!"

"Hey, you made it!" Chocolove said happily.

"Yeah, I thought maybe you wouldn't come," Horo said gravely.

"Why wouldn't he come?" Yoh asked. Horo's comment offended him slightly.

"It doesn't matter. I'm here," Ren said, breaking the silence that had quickly filled the room.

"Well, I'm glad you're here. The wedding is in two days, and Anna says I have a lot of stuff to do. Now you can help!" Yoh replied, hitting him hard on the back.

Ren smiled uneasily then glanced at Horo, who was frowning at him.

"What do you have to do, Yoh?" Manta asked.

"Oh, I don't really know yet." Yoh giggled like he had been eating too much candy. He was excited. It was obvious. And everyone was happy for him.

Everyone except for Ren.

"I'll be back," the Chinese boy said abruptly then quickly left the room.

"Did I say something?" Yoh appeared confused.

"I can go talk to him and make sure he's okay. I'm sure it's nothing," Horo said as he stood.

"He seemed okay when he came in, didn't he?" Lyserg asked timidly.

"Ah, it's fine," Horo said as he exited.

Horo could see Ren fiddling with his hands and kicking up dirt against the base of the house. He rushed at him swiftly, grabbing his shirt by the collar and slamming him hard against the wall.

"Let go of me!" Ren cried, surprised by Horo's strength.

"Get a grip. What is wrong with you?" Horo scolded.

"Why do you keep doing this to me?" Ren pushed the boy angrily and walked away from him.

"So when do you plan on telling Yoh you came to crash his wedding?" Horo called to him.

Ren froze and stared blankly at the ground. "I knew I shouldn't have told you."

"No, you should have told me. You did the right thing there. You shouldn't keep it to yourself. But, Yoh is our friend. He should know how you feel." Horo waited for Ren to come back to where he was standing.

"I don't want to cause trouble. That's not my intention," Ren replied weakly.

"You're sounding like a wimp, Ren. That's not like you. What happened to the 'I'll say whatever I want because I'm a man' Ren?" Horo seemed pleased with his statement.

"I've never said that. What are you talking about? And I'm not a wimp," Ren frowned.

"So go talk to him, then. I'll wait for you." Horo folded his arms in disgust as he watched Ren's face grow pale.

"Tomorrow. I'll tell him tomorrow."

"Ren! Come and give us a hand!" someone called from inside.

"So I guess I'm just dead weight?" Horo protested.

Ren was grateful to Horo. He helped him to relax, if only for a few seconds. "Let's go," he said with a smile.

* * *

"Anna, Ren is here," Yoh said cheerfully as he entered the kitchen.

"Hmm," she replied, her face expressionless.

"He's going to help me do...whatever I have to do." Scratching his head he seemed oblivious to Anna's obvious discomfort.

"I thought he wasn't coming," she said finally.

"Yeah, I thought so too, but he just showed up," he replied.

"Okay." She continued cooking and said nothing else. Even when Yoh said other things she didn't respond.

"Oh, hey! There he is! Are you okay?" Yoh asked worriedly as Ren entered the kitchen.

"No. I'm fine. Thank you," Ren replied. He looked at Anna briefly, who was ignoring him. "Hello, Anna," he said.

"Hi," she replied without looking at him.

Yoh was suddenly distracted by something Lyserg was saying in the other room. "Hey, I'll be right back," he said as he rushed out of the kitchen.

Ren was suddenly uncomfortable again. He and Anna were alone, and she wasn't talking to him.

"Anna, I-" he started.

"I'll be honest with you," she said, interrupting him. "You being here is uncomfortable. You do realize that, don't you?" She finally faced him and stared into his eyes intently as if burning them.

Ren was speechless. He felt there was nothing he could say to make the situation less uncomfortable. "I suppose," he replied finally.

"This is very important to me. I don't want anything to go wrong. Do you understand what I mean?" Anna's eyes became softer as she spoke.

"Don't worry. Everything will go the way it should." Ren felt confident in his statement. If he is meant to be with the one he loved, it would happen.

"I don't want you to come, Ren," she said, turning away from him.

"What?" She could tell he was caught off guard without looking at him. "Why not?" he demanded.

"You know why, Ren. Don't make a scene. I won't get married if you come. You know that. I don't want you there." Her words sounded final.

"I...won't be able to stay away, Anna. Yoh would want me there and..." He knew he was irritating her, but he didn't care.

"I don't want you there. That's enough." She raised her voice slightly but quickly regained her composure so as not to bring attention to them.

"I can't stay away. I flew here to...I can't do that, Anna." Ren suddenly felt defeated. This was a bad idea. "I need you to understand that..."

He was interrupted by Yoh's impromptu re-entrance. "Hey," he said nonchalantly.

Without looking at either of them, Anna stormed out of the kitchen, dropping a towel on the way out.

"Yoh I need to talk to you," Ren blurted.

"What's wrong with Anna?" Yoh asked. He heard what Ren said, but wasn't addressing him.

"I need to talk to you now," Ren insisted.

"Okay, what's up?" Yoh seemed confused as to why Ren was so anxious.

"Let's go outside."

* * *

"What's wrong, Anna?" Tamao asked worriedly. She had found her sitting on the floor in the hallway and tapping her fingers on the floor.

"I made a mistake," she said breathlessly.

"What? What do you mean? What did you do?" She sat down next to Anna.

"Never mind. It's nothing. I'm getting married. That's all that matters," she said, smiling at Tamao to reassure her confidence.

"If something was wrong you would tell me, wouldn't you?" Tamao replied.

"Sure."

"So, what's wrong?" Yoh asked as the two sat down on the grass.

"Yoh, you're my friend. You're a very good friend, and I will never forget how loyal you are." Ren's tone made Yoh nervous.

"What's going on, Ren?" he asked timidly.

"I don't want you to get married." Ren was amazed at how easily he said those words.

"You came here to tell me that?" Yoh became angry. "You upset her didn't you. You told her you didn't want us to get married."

"She's bothered, Yoh, because she knows." Ren looked away from him suddenly.

"She...knows what? What are you talking about?" Yoh's voice was almost threatening.

"She knows I'm in love with her."


	2. Two

**Thank you for reviewing the first chapter.**

**Two**

Ren suddenly felt uneasy. Yoh wasn't speaking. His face was expressionless, but his mouth had been gaped open for several seconds. The wind pushed thick brown strands in and out of his face and further raised the tension.

"...What?" he finally managed to say angrily.

"Yoh, I don't want to hurt you. I know this his difficult for you to hear but..." Ren was suddenly distracted by Yoh standing up.

"I don't believe this! I don't believe you came all this way to tell me that. This is...crazy!" as he spoke he stormed back inside the house.

Ren's first instinct was to follow him, but instead he remained on the grass and stared at his hands. He knew once he reentered the house he would walk into a room of chaos. "So now what?" he asked aloud.

Though the Chinese shaman looked quite ridiculous sitting in the middle of the back yard and daydreaming, he was right about the atmosphere inside. Yoh was furious, yelling and screaming for Anna to show herself.

"What is wrong with him?" Lyserg asked quietly, once Yoh cleared the sitting room. The others seemed just as confused, of course, all except Horo.

"This may get ugly," the blue haired boy replied.

---

"Where is she, Tamao?" Yoh demanded when he reached the top of the stairs.

"Um, she's not here." Tamao replied nervously.

"Please don't lie to me. Where is she?"

Tamao stepped closer to him and began rubbing her hands together. "No really, she's not here. She left when you went outside." She then closed her eyes as if waiting to be hit.

"Where did she go?" He replied, sighing heavily.

"I don't know, she didn't say. What's wrong, Yoh?" She placed her hand on his shoulder but quickly removed it.

"I have to find her. I'll be back later." He said and abruptly descended the stairs.

"Oh dear," she whispered.

---

Ren threw a pebble into the lake and stared at the ripples it produced. He was no longer at the house, and felt a nice walk would help to calm him. The rustling of the trees around him seemed too heavy for the amount of wind that was blowing. Curiosity consumed him and he turned around to see if there were any animals in his vicinity. His discovery caught him off guard.

"I knew you would wander out here," she said as blond strands blew in the wind and covered most of her face.

"Anna...what are you doing? Why aren't you at the house?" He felt they were betraying Yoh in some way just by being in the same place at the same time.

"I was suffocating," she said calmly. Walking past him a few steps, she folded her arms and stared at the other side of the lake.

"You should know then...I told Yoh about..." he was becoming irritated with so many people interrupting him.

"I know. I knew you would so I left." She responded without looking at him.

"Well then, you should go back and talk to him." Ren took a few steps closer but didn't touch her.

"I can't talk to him about this. No one asked you to drop that on him. I'm sure the wedding is off now." Anna's frustration angered him.

"Are you listening to yourself? I didn't tell him I ate all of the cookies in the cookie bowl..." he groaned when she interrupted him again.

"Cookie jar." She sighed.

"IRRELEVANT. This is very serious. He needed to know how I felt, and he needs to know how you feel." Her silence made him nervous.

"He knows how I feel. And up until a few minutes ago, I was getting married. But, of course, you had to tell him something that did not need to be addressed in the first place." Anna slightly raised her voice, angering him.

"So you're denying your feelings?" Ren growled.

"There's nothing to deny." She responded quickly.

"So I suppose I was dreaming when you kissed me?" Anna finally seemed to notice he was angry.

"That was a mistake. I explained that to you. It's not my fault you read more into it than what was intended." As she spoke, she turned her head to the right in an attempt to avoid his eyes, "So you think you fell for me? That's not my problem. I never led you on and I never said anything to push you. You're ruining my life for no good reason and it's irritating me."

"Are you trying to make me angry? It's working." Ren replied through clenched teeth. "Your memory is failing you, Anna. You came to me. I wasn't seeking your affection. And that wasn't the first time...you know it."

"Why are we talking about this? It's ridiculous anyway. I told you I didn't want you here, and you've just proved my point. Go home. I don't want to have to look at you anymore, and I'm sure Yoh doesn't want you here now either." She finally looked into his eyes with what appeared to be intense hatred.

"Fine, I'll leave. However, you should be honest with Yoh, even though you couldn't with me." Feeling content with his words, he left her standing in the wind.

Instead of responding with something cold, she watched him walk away, refolded her arms, and allowed the tears to flow freely down her cheeks.


	3. Three

Thanks again for the reviews. I'll apologize in advance. This is the point in the story where the characters get a bit "out of character". Also, this is a "filler" chapter so it may not fit...but it does.

**Three**

The voices swirled as feathers, fading and falling far behind him. He had temporarily lost the aid of his senses to think and reason. As the aimless pace of his footsteps carried him farther from the house the wind greeted him with a sweet whistle. The crisp air wrapped around his legs and tickled his arms but could not calm him. Finally shock was subdued. Fear and sadness momentarily dissipated. Yoh's anger resonated from the lowest part of his being and violently erupted as reddened blemishes across his face. Through clenched teeth he mustered the nearly inaudible words, "Where is she?"

The wind continued its song. He wasn't expecting it to speak to him, but seemed disappointed with the tone. Everything seemed vastly out of focus. Even if he did find his fiancé, he had no idea what to say to her. The anger burned his ears, and had consumed his attention so much, he didn't realize he was about to step into the lake.

"Anna, where are you!" He screamed as if the he were being devoured by the trees in the distance.

"I'm right here."

Startled by the reply, he quickly spun around to find her.

"Anna," the rest of his sentence suffocated in his throat.

"I know you're angry, but there's no need to worry," she started.

"I talked to Ren," he finally managed to say.

"Yes, I know. He has a great deal of nerve telling you such a thing. I mean, he told you he was in love with me, right?" Anna's nonchalant tone pushed his anger away some and allowed confusion to cloud his thoughts.

She studied his dark brown eyes for a moment then continued. "So you're probably thinking we've had an affair or something? I'll answer any questions you have..." Anna began biting her bottom lip. She wasn't intending to say that.

"Are you in love with him?" his question escaped his lips as a slow whisper. She almost didn't hear the desperation in his voice. Studying his face again, she noticed he was no longer looking at her.

"Don't be ridiculous, Yoh. I told you there's nothing to worry about," She took a few steps closer but he moved away.

"Tell me the truth," he said slowly as if talking was causing him great pain.

Anna quickly folded her arms in disgust and replied, "What, do you want me to tell you I love him? Are you trying to get out of marrying me?"

Yoh's confused look became a permanent stance. His lips moved slightly but no words proceeded from his mouth. Blinking a few times he took one step forward and stared at her. He didn't realize she was manipulating him.

"Let's just go back home, Yoh. We need to talk about this. I want to put your mind at ease," she spoke with a frightfully cheerful tone and stepped closer to him. Yoh appeared to be clueless as to why he couldn't respond to his fiancé. He knew he should be angry, but for some reason he felt inadequate in doing so. Instead, he allowed her to hold his hand and lead him back to the house.

---

"What are you doing?" Tamao asked after entering his room unannounced.

"You know how to knock, don't you?" he replied, seemingly irritated.

Ignoring the bark, she slowly walked closer to the desk he was leaning against and sighed, "So...you're running away?" She asked.

"I'm not...running." Ren seemed very offended by her question, although it was warranted.

"You didn't unpack and now you're messing around with your bags as if you had. You're leaving, right?" Ren had to look at her to see if she was smirking. He felt it in her voice.

"It wasn't a good idea for me to come here. I'm going home for a while." He said blankly. His response did not satisfy her. She took a few steps forward, closing in on his personal space and making him extremely uncomfortable.

"It was a good idea for you to come. Your best friend is getting married. The bad idea was for you to open your mouth and anger him." She waited for him to respond and when he didn't she continued, "I don't know what you did to make him so mad, but now he's trying to find Anna and won't tell me why. Why did you have to come and ruin things for them?"

Ren looked at her again and could see she was hurt. "It wasn't my intention to..." finishing the statement made him feel worse so he stopped talking, "I'm going home. Things will be better once I leave."

"What did you say to him?" she tugged at his shirt because he turned his back on her again.

"Don't touch me." He replied sharply.

"Just tell me what you said...please?" her voice began to quiver from the onset of tears.

"Maybe Yoh will tell you someday. I don't want to talk about it." Unable to stay in the room with her any longer, he grabbed the bags that were sitting on the desk and stormed toward the door.

"Why do you hate her so much?" Tamao screamed at him just as he was leaving. The sudden outburst caught him completely off guard and he spun around slowly to face her.

"What?"

"I know you hate her. I know you don't want her to marry Yoh. They're happy! Why are you ruining this for them?" Ren had never heard her raise her voice before. It was...scary.

"That's not true," he replied breathlessly.

"If you don't hate her then what is it?"

He stood staring at her for a few moments. Tamao's eyes were too piercing for him to handle. Instead of giving her a direct answer he opted to flee for the stairs.


	4. Four

**Four**

"Wow, they really must be fighting," Manta said slowly as he watched Ren descending the stairs with his bags.

"No way," Horo said under his breath. He knew the possibility of Ren leaving would be great, but he had always pictured the exit before Yoh would discover his secret.

"YOU ARE A COWARD!" Tamao screamed at him as he reached the last step. Without acknowledging anyone in the room, Ren headed straight for the door and almost came to a jog as he exited.

"Does this mean he's not staying for the wedding?" Lyserg asked timidly.

"Lyserg," Horo sighed, "There might not be a wedding."

---

"_Did you just kiss me?" His voice quivered as he spoke. She was holding his face in her hands, watching silently as his body trembled. "I mean, because if you kissed me that would mean…"_

_She stood abruptly and turned her back to him. The short black dress she was wearing bounced up and down at the hem as she tapped her foot nervously. She remained silent._

"_Anna, say something. What was that?" She felt the change in the air as he stood and stepped closer to the door. _

"_Let's not talk about this again." He could tell in the weakness of her voice she was beginning to cry._

"_What are you talking about? We have to talk about this. That wasn't random. It's happened before and I need to know this time." He was inches from the back of her neck._

"_It doesn't matter. It was a mistake. You don't have to mention it again."_

"_People don't normally make the exact mistake over and over again. I need to know what this means."_

"_What do you want me to say?" She was suddenly yelling at him, "We are not talking about this again. Get out."_

"_Fine. Eventually we will." As he passed her and reached for the door she grabbed his hand and stopped him._

"_Ren?"_

"_..Yes?"_

"_Please don't tell Yoh."_

_---_

"Anna, are you listening to me?" Yoh suddenly intruded upon her daydream as he raised his voice.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" She realized they were still holding hands so she gripped his tighter.

"I said I need time to think. I want us to talk about this, but I'm angry and confused and stuff, and I want to clear my head first." Yoh stopped talking because she wasn't looking at him and seemingly wasn't listening.

"ANNA!"

"I heard you," she said softly, "That's a good idea. I'll give you your space; as much space as you need. Why don't you go back to the house and relax. I'll stay out here and get some fresh air."

"Why don't you go back inside and I can stay out here. I think I need more fresh air than you do right now." Yoh seemed irritated by her suggestion.

"You need to spend some time with your friends. It wouldn't be good for you to be alone and possibly run into Ren right now." He could now sense the desperation in her voice, and she pulled at his arm to move him.

"Whatever."

She heard him say it but for some reason didn't see him jerk away from her. By the time she realized the conversation was over, he was yards away and too far to call back. The slow steps she made toward the lake made her body feel weightless. Beautiful leaves rustled around her feet as the wind carried her to the destination.

"I know you saw me, but why did you come out here?" the male voice resonated from the trees.

"We need to talk, don't we?" Anna spun around and seemed surprised by the luggage bags he had leaning against a tree trunk.

"There's nothing to talk about, remember?" Ren's response sounded much angrier than he felt.

"I need you to stay for a while." Her words astonished him so much he lost his balance slightly and almost fell forward.

"…Why do you want me to stay? You said I'm causing problems and I'm ruining your wedding…" He didn't mean to sound sarcastic but she picked up on the tone and fired back.

"Stop acting like this! You don't have to pretend you hate me. This is your fault; remember? You were the one who told my fiancé you're in love with me, which I still think is absolutely absurd. You made this mess, so you have to fix it! I want you to tell Yoh the truth and make things right." She seemed breathless as she spoke, as if she knew everything she said was empty and vain.

"Who's acting Anna? You've put on the perfect 'oblivion' act ever since I arrived. You can't even admit you at least have feelings for me that are not pure hatred. I'm not talking to Yoh again right now. You have to fix this; not me. Do you really think I wanted to fall in love with you? Yoh is my friend, and I would never want to hurt him. If you want to blame someone, blame both of us. I am so sick of this tug of war with you."

"Yoh is going to think I don't love him anymore because of you. Why did you have to say anything in the first place? At least admit you came here to stop my wedding."

Ren seemed floored. He was suddenly unable to speak and looked into her eyes as if wounded. After a few long seconds of regaining his composure he sneered, "You are unbelievable."

"Oh, and flying all the way to Japan just to ruin your best friend's wedding isn't?" Anna was beginning to hate herself for the words that followed but for some reason, she couldn't help spreading this onslaught of viral malice. "What did you think? Did you honestly think I would call off this wedding? Did you think you would fly here and I would run into your arms and tell you I can't stop thinking about you and can never be without you?"

"Anna," he tried to interrupt her but she was yelling now and couldn't hear him.

"You're full of it if you think you had a chance with me. I'll tell you the truth, since you think I haven't been honest with you. I don't love you. I don't even like you. In fact, Ren, I hate you. I hate you for invading our lives in the first place. I hate you for befriending Yoh and making him feel like he needs you in his life. I hate myself for ever letting you touch me, and I hate that we're here having this conversation. I can't stand to look at you. You shouldn't have come here, and now I have to be sick at my wedding. Get out of our lives; you're not welcome." She was standing two feet in front of him with her hands balled into tight fists at her sides. The wind blew her hair all over her face, and most of the beautiful strands were caught in the stream of tears that were now flowing freely down her cheeks.

"That's impossible," Ren said under his breath.

"What did you say?" Anna choked.

"You don't hate me." His words were too calm, flowing from his lips as if he didn't hear her tantrum.

For the first time, Anna was at a loss for words. She closed her eyes and quickly pulled her hair from her face, turning away from him as if trying to clear her thoughts. As the wind picked up in pace she stumbled slightly and opened her eyes to find herself tightly in his arms.

Ignoring the shock and panic in Anna's eyes, Ren seemed this was a good opportunity to freely express his thoughts. He leaned forward and slowly whispered into her ear, "I don't care anymore. You can be afraid; I'm not. I love you."

He tried to finish his profession but was caught off guard by the sudden caress of her lips against his own.


	5. Five

**I forgot to mention that this is the final chapter. Forgive me. And...be objective please. I rewrote it twice because I changed the ending. I hope you enjoy and don't forget to review.  
**

**  
Five  
**

The house had an unusual tension no one could have predicted. Yoh's friends who had gathered in the sitting room tried to have normal conversation even though their thoughts were understandably amiss. Sorrow and worry replaced Tamao's anger. Although there were questions to be asked and emotions to be expressed, no one dared to utter any words.

"You guys don't have to pretend I'm dead." Yoh said finally.

"Are you okay?" Tamao asked as if Yoh had given them all permission to speak.

"Yeah," sighing heavily he continued, "I'm just confused. I don't know how to deal with this. I don't even know what I'm supposed to think."

"Well, we don't really know what you're talking about." Manta seemed embarrassed by his statement even though it was true.

"Why are you mad at Ren?" Tamao asked impatiently.

"I'm not mad at him." Yoh's reply was a surprise.

"What do you mean you're not mad at him?" Horo protested, "I understand you're confused, but I think you should be angry...at _somebody_."

"Well, I was angry but..." Yoh paused to re-gather his thoughts then started again, "I'm not angry at him. I can't blame him for how he feels. It's not like he meant to fall in love," Pausing again, he turned to Horo with a frown. "Wait a minute. Who told you?"

"Told him what?" Tamao's question was ignored by the two.

"Ren told me six months ago. I just thought he would have told you by now." Horo replied reluctantly.

"You've known about this for six months and didn't tell me? You didn't think I needed to know that?" Yoh's voice seemed harsh and heated.

"Well, yeah I thought you needed to know, but it wasn't my place to tell you." Horo suddenly felt like he needed to defend himself, "It doesn't matter now anyway. You know about it now. So, what are you going to do about it?"

"What are we talking about again?" Chocolove asked hesitantly. Lyserg, Ryu and Manta seemed to agree with his question.

"Ren and Anna are in love and..." Horo started.

"Who told you that?" Yoh demanded angrily.

"What?" He didn't seem to realize Yoh was offended.

"They're in love?" Tamao seemed floored, "But..."

"Anna doesn't love him. She loves me. He has this crush on her that has grown into something serious. I have to figure out how to deal with this." Yoh stood abruptly and began pacing back and forth in front of them.

"You don't think there's a possibility she may feel the same way he does?" Horo asked after a brief period of silence.

"How can you say that, Horo?" Tamao yelled at him as if he were talking about her, "Anna and Yoh are supposed to be together. Ren came to break them up. He thinks he loves her. That doesn't mean she loves him back. She wouldn't do that to Yoh!"

"Why are _you_ so mad?" Horo asked her when she paused to breathe.

"I don't know. I just need to figure out how to deal with this." Yoh started, excusing Tamao from having to answer the question. "I need time to think and clear my head."

"Maybe there's nothing you should do." Manta mumbled.

"Manta, he has to do something," Horo started.

"Well, maybe he's right." Lyserg said, convinced he had enough information to comment, "I mean, if Anna doesn't love Ren then there's no need to do anything. If he just has a crush, no one can control it. You can still get married and be happy... I guess Ren would just be sad."

"That makes perfect sense," Ryu said as the others began to speak simultaneously.

"You're right, Lyserg. I'm thinking too hard about this. I should just relax and clear my mind. Maybe I should take a nap...get some rest or something." Although Yoh seemed pleased with Lyserg's advice, his friend's words could not comfort him.

"You're an idiot," Horo's nearly inaudible words were only detected by Tamao, who nervously watched Yoh walk out of the room.

---

"We _are_ talking about this right now. You are _not_ walking away, and we _are_ going to figure this out." Ren scolded.

"I'm here. Talk to me." Anna replied. While seeing Anna vulnerable was irresistible to him, Ren had grown irritated from her kiss.

"We do this too much. You kiss me, I ask you what it means, and then you act like I imagined everything. Nothing is ever your fault. You won't even admit that you kissed me just now. Don't you ever grow tired of lying to yourself?" Ren's heated comments sounded exaggerated since his lips quivered as he spoke.

"I didn't deny anything, Ren." Anna's soft tone surprised him, "I know I kissed you. Maybe I shouldn't have, but I can't take it back." She bit her lip as she watched him roll his eyes at her. "I didn't mean it that way..."

"So you don't love me? Just say it, please, and I'll be on my way." He sighed as he relieved the tree trunk of his bags.

"I can't let you leave like this," She whispered, stepping in front of him to block his path.

"Go home, Anna. You need to work things out with Yoh. The wedding is very soon, remember?" Ren's sarcastic tone wasn't intentional, but his anger made his voice uncontrollable.

"I can't do this."

Ren stared at the object of his torture, but for a few short seconds he didn't recognize her. Anna's face glowed as her hair blew behind in the wind. Her tears overflowed in her eyes and rushed as waterfalls down her cheeks. It was an emotion he hadn't seen before...one that he was not prepared to counter or decipher.

"Anna I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry," He didn't know what else to say.

"You didn't make me cry, Ren." She was suddenly smiling, "It's time to be honest, right?"

"Right?" The normally calm boy that stood in front of her had now begun shivering.

"It's a complicated thing, really. I can't explain it except that I keep having these stomach cramps..." Anna's rambling seemed to amuse him.

"Butterflies?" he asked calmly.

"I don't have butterflies in my stomach. That's impossible, Ren. Use your head. I mean...this isn't coming out the right way...what I'm saying is that you may be right." Her nervousness satisfied him in a way he never imagined. She wasn't even looking at him.

"I think you love me on some level. Could that be possible?" Ren smiled and allowed his bags to drop at his sides.

Anna began pacing back and forth in front of him as she tapped her fingertips together. Ren tried to guess exactly what she was thinking but couldn't. When she stopped and faced him he held his breath.

"I love Yoh. He's my fiancé. He makes me happy and makes me feel safe. I don't think you can do that for me. I don't think you can make my life peaceful." Anna's tears were confusing to Ren as she spoke.

"Then you've made your decision, right? Yoh is the better choice. I actually agree with that. You should marry him and be happy for the rest of your life." In his attempt to make things easy for Anna, Ren's words became physically painful for him.

"I can't marry him." Anna's whisper was almost inaudible.

"What? But you just said you love him and he makes you happy and he's safe and..." Ren's frustrated rambling stopped suddenly as she spoke again.

"Ren, I love you. I have to make a choice, right? I can't marry Yoh and then regret it for the rest of my life...and I know I will. This is something I can't ignore anymore. I don't want to have to feel guilty for kissing you and then thinking about you every waking moment afterward..."

"You think about me every waking moment?" Ren's reply was ignored.

"I can't put him through that torture. I want him to be happy, and I don't think he will be, knowing how you feel about me. I...have to do something." Anna suddenly seemed scared.

"You have to call off the wedding and tell him how you feel." Ren didn't want to sound too eager because it would seem as though he had no regard for his friend.

Anna suddenly stormed away from him and began walking quickly up the hill. Leaving his bags in the grass, he followed her.

"Where are you going? Are you angry now?" he seemed confused by her haste.

"I have to get back to the house and tell him before I lose the nerve." She replied without looking back.

"Wait!" Ren picked up his pace to catch up with her and grasped her hand tightly. "You don't have to do this alone." He said.

She didn't look at him, but as her hair blew back and forth in the wind he could see she was smiling.

**THE END**


End file.
